Sexual Activity & Contraception

Sexual Activity

In 1982, 1983, 1984, and 1985 NLSY79 respondents were asked about their sexual activity. Once the respondent answered the questions, he or she was not asked the series in subsequent surveys. Out of a total of 12,686 respondents, 310 did not answer any of the questions in these years.

The first activity question asked respondents whether they had ever had sexual intercourse. This question was skipped if the respondent had previously reported either being a parent or being pregnant. Out of the 11,797 respondents, 889 or 7.5 percent stated that they had never had sexual intercourse. The youngest respondents answered this question when they were 18. The validity of these items is evaluated in Mott (1985). These data should be used cautiously because inconsistencies in reports of first intercourse with subsequent fertility events can sometimes occur. Respondents who had ever engaged in sex were then asked at what age they first had intercourse. Table 1 includes frequencies broken down by race and sex, as well as a total for the whole cohort.

Table 1. Reported Age at which Respondents First Had Sex by Race and Gender

Age

Male

Female

Total

Hispanic or Latino

Black

NB/NH

Hispanic or Latino

Black

NB/NH

Number

Percent

Cum. %

<10

16

75

29

0

2

7

129

1.1

1.1

10

3

50

17

0

3

8

81

0.7

1.8

11

12

58

19

0

4

7

100

0.9

2.7

12

30

140

91

1

14

14

290

2.5

5.2

13

38

158

160

10

35

50

451

3.9

9.2

14

87

207

249

32

73

132

780

6.8

16.0

15

139

273

415

71

181

275

1354

11.8

27.8

16

178

276

742

125

313

584

2218

19.4

47.2

17

177

136

621

143

293

625

1995

17.4

64.6

18

117

90

527

145

282

711

1872

16.3

81.0

19

52

24

216

136

118

367

913

8.0

88.9

20

25

11

155

63

74

233

561

4.9

93.8

21

12

11

72

60

32

140

327

2.9

96.7

22

8

3

56

31

14

79

191

1.7

98.4

23

4

0

22

9

4

49

88

0.8

99.1

24

0

1

14

3

3

26

47

0.4

99.5

25

3

2

10

6

3

9

33

0.3

99.8

26

3

0

3

5

1

3

15

0.1

100

27

1

0

1

0

0

3

5

0.0

100

Total

905

1515

3419

840

1449

3322

11450

100

100

Note: Numbers are based on responses from the 1983, 1984, and 1985 NLSY79 surveys (R09880., R10207., R13122., R13796., R16916., and R17600.). Universe includes only respondents ever reporting sexual intercourse.

Questions in this section also ask NLSY79 respondents if they have had sex in the past month. In 1983, respondents provided a yes/no answer. However, in 1984 and 1985 they were asked the number of times they had sex in the last month. The data contain some outlying entries; users should carefully decide how to interpret outlying data points in these distributions. Additionally, there is evidence of a significant number of youth who changed their "ever had sex" status from yes to no between 1983 and subsequent survey years.

In 1984, the survey also asked if respondents had taken a sex education course. If so, they were asked at what date they took the course. Respondents also stated whether the first course they took covered:

The female menstrual cycle

Contraception methods

Where to obtain contraception

Effects of contraception

Sexual diseases

To test reproductive knowledge, respondents were also asked (Table 2) when pregnancy is most likely to occur during the female monthly menstrual cycle. Answers in 1984 show a substantial portion of respondents did not choose the medically correct answer of about two weeks after the period. Approximately 25 percent of men and 12 percent of women stated they did not know the answer.

Table 2. Knowledge of When Pregnancy Most Likely to Occur

Answer

Males

Females

Right before Period

1283

1185

During Period

352

128

Right after Period

963

806

About 2 Weeks after Period

1441

2549

Anytime

496

597

Don't Know

1480

725

Source: The data are from the 1984 survey: males R13150. and females R13826.

Contraception

Since 1982, NLSY79 respondents have regularly been asked about their use of contraception. These contraception questions appear in the "Fertility" section of the questionnaire. The questions were asked annually from 1982 to 1986. After 1986 the questions were asked only in even years corresponding with the child supplements. After 1994, the surveys became biennial and the questions were included in each survey.

The respondents are asked if they use birth control. If they state that they do, the second question asks the frequency of these methods using a three-point scale of "always," "sometimes," or "almost never." Finally, respondents are asked to state all the methods they have used in the past month from the following list:

Pill

Condom, rubber

Foam

Jelly or cream alone

Suppository or insert

Diaphragm with or without jelly or cream

Douching after intercourse

IUD, coil, loop

Operation-Female sterilization, tubes tied

Operation-Male sterilization, vasectomy

Natural family planning, safe period by temperature and cervical mucus test

Rhythm or safe period by calendar

Withdrawal/pulling out

Contraceptive sponge

Other Method

Over time the list has been expanded and now includes four additional choices:

Abstinence

Norplant

Cervical Cap

Depo-Provera

Hysterectomy

Beginning in 2002 a specific individual question was added asking respondents if they have been surgically sterilized. If they have been sterilized they will not be asked this series of birth control questions again. Previously, sterilization was an option among a list of birth control options (see list above), but it was not a separate question.

In most years, at the end of this three-question series, the interviewer fills in a question that states if anyone else was present during this part of the questioning. Small children under three years old are not counted by interviewers when filling in their response.

In addition to these questions, female respondents who are pregnant or who have given birth since the last survey year are asked about their contraception methods before conceiving. Respondents are asked if before becoming pregnant they used one of the birth control methods listed, or if they stopped all birth control methods before becoming pregnant. Finally, they were asked if the reason they stopped using birth control was because they wanted to become pregnant.

Comparison to Other NLS Cohorts: NLSY79 young adults have been asked about both sex and birth control methods in the "Confidential" section of each survey. In NLSY97 rounds 1 and 2, questions on sexual activity were asked of respondents who were at least 14 years old; all respondents were eligible in later rounds. These respondents were first asked if they had ever had sexual intercourse and if they had intercourse since the last interview (later rounds). If a respondent reported ever having sexual intercourse, questions were asked about the first occurrence, such as the respondent's age and whether the respondent and the partner used birth control. For more precise details about the content of each survey, consult the appropriate cohort's User's Guide using the tabs above for more information.

Reference

Mott, Frank L. "Evaluation of Fertility Data and Preliminary Analytical Results from the 1983 (Round 5) Survey of the National Longitudinal Surveys of Work Experience of Youth." Columbus, OH: CHRR, The Ohio State University, 1985.

Survey Instruments and Documentation

The questions on sexual activity and contraception can be found in the "Fertility" section of each questionnaire. In 1983, the fertility section was fielded as a separate supplement for those respondents who were not interviewed in 1982.

Areas of Interest

The variables described above can be found within the "Birth Record" and BIRTHRECXX areas of interest.